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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Rogerio De Lemos
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This thesis describes a methodology for the reuirements analysis of critical real-time systems. The methodology is based on formal methods, and provides a systematic way in which requirements can be analysed and specifications produced. The proposed methodology consists of a framework with distinct phases of analysis, a set of techniques appropriate for the issues to be analysed at each phase of the framework, a hierarchical structure of the specifications obtained from the process of analysis, and techniques to perform quality assessment of the specifications. The phases of the framework, which are abstraction levels for the analysis of the requirements, follow directly from a general structure adopted for critical real-time systems. The intention is to define abstraction levels, or domains, in which the analysis of requirements can be performed in terms of specific properties of the system, thus reducing the inherent complexity of the analysis. Depending on the issues to be analysed in each domain, the choice of the appropriate formalism is determined by the set of feature, related to that domain, that a formalism should possess. In this work, instead of proposing new formalisms we concentrate on identifying and enumerating those features that a formalism should have. The specifications produced at each phase of the framework are organised by means of a specification hierarchy, which facilitates our assessment of the quality of the requirements specifications, and their traceability. Such an assessment should be performed by qualitative and quantitative means in order to obtain high confidence (assurance) that the level of safety is acceptable. In order to exemplify the proposed methodology for the requirements analysis of critical real-time systems we discuss a case study based on a crossing of two rail tracks (in a model railway), which raises safety issues that are similar to those found at a traditional level crossing (i.e. rail-road).
Author(s): de Lemos R
Publication type: Report
Publication status: Published
Series Title:
Year: 1994
Institution: Department of Computing Science, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Place Published: Newcastle upon Tyne
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10443/2068
Notes: British Lending Library DSC stock location number: DX182590
